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New Friends for Sidwell

Will the Obama's school choice make waves in DC?

Townhall’s Amanda Carpenter is reporting Barack and Michelle Obama have selected Sidwell Friends – the same school Chelsea Clinton attended – for their two girls, Sasha and Malia.

Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, currently attend University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, one of Chicago’s premier private schools, but will make the transition to the Washington-area private Quaker school in January. The Obama’s will be following in the footsteps of the Nixons, Clintons, Gores, and Vice-President Elect Joe Biden’s granddaughter.

Mayor Adrian Fenty (D-DC), who was hopeful the Obama’s would consider enrolling their daughters in a DC public school, is reportedly perturbed with President-elect Obama’s choice of Sidwell Friends. Fenty attempted to pitch DC’s schools – not only to Obama, but all “new families” – as a serious option, but DC’s reputation failed to comfort Michelle, who currently serves on her daughters’ school board.

Amy Carter, son of peanut farmer and handyman Jimmy Carter, was the last First-kid to attend a public school.

Q: Fenty’s feigned outrage is politics, to be sure, but who plays politics with children? A: Democrats wanting re-election. The decision of where to send your children is an extremely personal one, i.e. not a publicity stunt for Fenty to raise the public profile of DC’s Compton-like school system. I seriously doubt the Obama’s would voluntarily send their children to a school system where students carry clear backpacks for fear of weapons.

I’m not sure what is more troublesome for the First-couple: The triple-stabbing that occurred at Anacostia High School four days ago, the lax curriculum, or the fact that Fenty, having full-knowledge of these security failures and sub-par academics, tried selling them such an underperforming school system.

If this Mayor gig doesn’t pan out, Fenty, there’s always used car sales. You seem pretty good at pulling the wool over folks’ eyes already.